Before I get to book talks, let me say how much I appreciate all your comments regarding teacher observations..  It was really eye-opening to see the wide variety of practices in place.  I also wasn't aware that tenure had been completely abolished in some states.  It makes for interesting thought to see that we all have the same job with the same important goal of educating our youth, however what we do is open to such a variety of rigor in its evaluation.  Gave me a lot of food for thought. Moving on. . . My friends conducted book talks this week.  Overall, they did a really good job.  They were to sell their book as if they were giving a cheesy infomercial.  Kind of silly, but lots of fun.  They had to summarize their book and "sell" it to their classmates without giving away the ending. As part of the project, they also had to create a t-shirt that reflects the book.  One of the main things I noticed at this book talk was how much better their public speaking skills were from the book talks we did last month. 

I don't know if it was the cheesy infomercial effect, but most had memorized their talks rather than reading them from note cards.  Carolina Cat Dc For SaleThey also had a lot more eye contact and variety in volume and inflection when they spoke.Weight Loss Frequency Hz I thought I would share some of what they did.  Outdoor Furniture Dubai CheapSince I can't show faces, I took two pictures.  One for our school blog and then another without their head for this blog.  That sounds so mean, to have cut their heads off in the pictures.  I just didn't want to take the time to blurr out the faces!  Let's just say this will allow you to focus without being charmed by a bunch of cute smiles! I categorized some of the pictures. Here are few of my nonfiction readers.

Okay, one more UPDATE (6/2014)  Believe it or not, I still get emails asking me for a rubric for this project.  I still don't have one for ya!  BUT, I found a great one that will work beautifully.  It's a Teachers Pay Teachers product by Runde's Room, a great blogger with an amazing blog!  She has created a book talk pack that includes an information sheet, student guideline sheet, information organizer, and a rubric for assessment.  You can click HERE to go directly to the product.  I purchased it a while back, and can tell you it will work well with this project.  It wouldn't include the t-shirt for scoring, but you could just add that in and I think that would be easy to do if you follow what she did on the rubric.  Anyway, hope this helps those of you still looking for a book talk rubric. So, that is what my friends have been up to this week.  Well, that and today was PI DAY!!!  We had a lot of fun.  The four other fifth grade teachers I work with and I rotated among the five classes doing different pi related activities. 

Part of my activity was a reading of the book Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander.Want to win $1,500? Want to see your design on a shirt at the official Destination Imagination (DI) Global Finals Store? Your challenge is to create a t-shirt design that illustrates what creativity means to you. Three lucky students will win $1,500 and have their t-shirt designs printed and featured on the DI website. Click here to download the official contest flyer. Free pass to Global Finals 2015 for 3 registered DI teams. The free pass applies to 2014-15 registered DI teams. The pass will allow you to compete even if your team does not qualify at the state or regional level. The free pass does not include registration fees or travel expenses. If the contest winner is not on a registered DI team, he or she is able to transfer their free pass to a registered DI team. Eligibility & Age Requirements If you are under 18, you must ask your parent or guardian permission before entering this contest.

The contest is open to any student (K-12) and is not limited to Destination Imagination participants. $1,500 will be awarded to one lucky winner from each age category. Elementary Level – Kindergarten-5th Grade (No student reaching age 12 by June 15, 2015) Middle Level – 6th-8th Grade (No student reaching age 15 by June 15, 2015) Secondary Level – 9th-12th Grade (No student reaching age 19 by June 15, 2015) Deadline to enter: March 29, 2015 at 11:59a.m. Download the form and template below at email it along with your submission to . Download and fill out the Interactive PDF form Choose from one of the templates below to submit your design: Use this PDF Template to create your design by hand. Make sure to scan your design at 300dpi before you submit. Use this EPS Template to create your design digitally in Adobe Illustrator or any other vector based sofware. Use this PSD Template to create your design digitally in Adobe Photoshop.

All entry emails should have the subject line “T-shirt Contest – First Name, Last Name, Age.” Submit front t-shirt designs only. Do not place any design on the sleeves. Attach submissions as high resolution (300dpi) PDF or JPEG files. All submissions must be under 8 MB. Please be prepared to submit the original drawing, Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop file in the case your artwork is chosen. Please do not attach additional material. No additional materials (videos or photos) will be accepted. Carefully read Terms & Qualifications. The designs will be appraised by the staff at Destination Imagination, based on originality and creativity. The Destination Imagination staff will narrow the entries down to the top designs in each age category. The finalists’ designs will be posted on the DI website for public voting. The voting will run from April 3, 2015, through April 9, 2015. One design from each of the three age categories will be deemed a winner based on the highest vote count.

The winners will be announced on our website on April 13, 2015. Limit only one submission per person. If you submit more than one, only your first submission in order of date and time will be considered. Don’t use any logos or incorporate the DI box and ball logo in your design. The DI logo will be added to the sleeve of the winning shirts before they are printed. Don’t use DI in your design. No inappropriate references (drugs, alcohol, violence, profanity, sex, etc.) allowed. Submit only original designs. These designs must not contain copyrighted material and they cannot have previously won any awards. The winning designs will become property of Destination Imagination, Inc. By submitting a design, you automatically grant DI a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license to use and publicly display the content. By participating, you agree to release, discharge and hold harmless Destination Imagination, Inc. from any and all liability, loss, damage or injury resulting from participation in this contest.

Tips For Designing a T-Shirt Brainstorm a lot of ideas Explore different concepts for your design and actively seek out inspiration in nature, books, magazines, Pinterest, etc. Experiment, make revisions and get feedback Create a rough sketch to test out your concept, then revise your sketch multiple times until you are happy with the results. Ask your friends and family for their feedback, then make more revisions. Create balance, emphasis, unity and movement Be mindful of these four basic principles and to create a cohesive design. Check out this resource about the The 4 Basic Principles of Design. This article was written for presentations, but the same concepts can be applied to any design. Create contrast with color Choose colors that are different enough to create contrast, but also complement each other. When it comes to words, less is more. Keep the copy short. If a design has too many words, people may not have time to read it all.